New York State Reorganizes Mental Health Care In Rockland

It was announced Wednesday that the state of New York will increase its mental health services in Rockland County. Under the Office of Mental Health’s Regional Centers for Excellence Plan, existing inpatient facilities in Rockland will be strengthened, meaning the 24 centers statewide will be combined into 15 regional centers, allowing several outpatient facilities to be established within the next four years. Orangeburg will be one of the towns where the inpatient facility will grow, including the 400 bed Rockland Psychiatric Center, the Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center, and the Nathan Kline institute for psychiatric research. The center will offer outpatient services in Westchester, Middletown, and Poughkeepsie. Reports say that the services may include mobile units, crisis services, monitoring, employment, as well as specialized housing. According to John Murphy, President of the Board of Visitors at the Rockland County Psychiatric Center, the main goal of this program is to enhance the services to patients suffering from mental illness, though it will make the area of service in the state smaller. Having the research center and two Rockland psychiatric hospitals become part of the center for excellence means that resources and patients will be directed to these facilities.